July 4, 2011 roughly

We tend to spend our July 4th at Lake Tahoe, inviting as many family or friends as will fit. this year, we had a blast, with the entire family there, at least some of the time. This year, we also had our granddaughter, Kayla with us. Obviously, we all had a lot of fun - boating, wake boarding, paddle boarding, hiking, playing on the beach, and just plain relaxing.

Kayla had a lot of fun on the boat. She clearly enjoys getting ready for the boat, but as you can see, she really enjoys steering the boat!

Getting ready for her first journey onto Lake Tahoe!

Clearly likes to be in charge!  And yes, she actually was steering the boat.

The whole family was able to attend church together, so we have our family picture below.  Actually, we are all getting pretty good at posing - except with Kayla, we need to take a few more shots than we used to take.  Thank goodness for digital camera!

Monday, we tried paddle boarding.  Tons of fun - and much more exercise than what it looks like.  Of course, one needs to contemplate going into water that is run off from the snow in the mountains.

Speaking of paddle boarding, some folks were just glad to make it back to shore:

And because we are so tough, and 2010-2011 was such a long, wet, cold winter - the same day we played in the water in the morning, we played in the snow that afternoon!

Evening of July 4th is always fun.  Here are Ashley and Kayla posing, and most of us in the back of the boat waiting for the fireworks.  This picture is a tradition as we celebrate the 4th.  Trick is to not have so many in the back that we start to take on water if the waves are big - which they weren't this year.

This summer, we found a new way to enjoy a day on the lake.  Leave early, find a small, isolated beach, and position the boat so you have some privacy - then enjoy the day on your own private beach.  This is probably one of the most relaxing days we had during the week.

Our private beach on the lake!

We also went for hikes.  With Kayla, they tend to be a bit more exercise than a normal stroll through the woods.  If it was a rock, it was a launch pad.  It was just very important that someone is around to moderate the takeoff and landing!

After an evening stroll, the next day requires another boat trip.. we looked for a private beach again, but alas, we were a bit too late, and the lake was a bit too high, so the beaches, what few remained, were all taken.  This year, the lake is approaching record high water levels.  After driving around much of the lake, Rudy needed to take a break.. so he turned the helm over to his trusted second in command.  Just to prove how accomplished her steering skills are, she used a most unusual technique.  Yes, the boat really was moving - but it is a big lake, with few boats, and no safety issues.

Because we had several days, we finally did have another day on the beach.  We also have a favorite go anywhere camera - water, sand, drop proof, and apparently - kid proof.  What it is not able to do is take a clear shot with a finger in front of the lens:

Seems like we still need some  technology improvements before we can call it truly kid proof!

Tahoe in June

So this weekend I was at Lake Tahoe with two business associated (founders of Ring-o-Rang).  We had a good time making minor fixes to the cabin, cleaning up, and testing the boat after the winter layover.  The good news, the cabin and boat are ready for the summer.  The lake is really full, and likely to get more full, as authorities are not letting water out of the lake.  Apparently there is so much runoff from other rivers, they are afraid the Truckee river can't take that additional load of the lake spill.  So, we should enjoy this high lake time.  We went in and out of some wonderful coves below Thunderbird Lodge.  One of my favorite pictures of the trip.

We'll need to go to this one and just hang around for the day.

While we were on the lake, I wanted to get a picture of Robert and Brent, but the usual angle was just not good enough, so I decided a shot from lake level would be a more unique perspective.

Of course, the problem with that is that I actually had to be at lake level, so yes, I got into the lake.  This will redefine cold for quite some time!

Yes, it was very refreshing... to say the least.  For the record, Robert and Brent were so excited, they wanted to go for a tube run, which they did, but with wet suits... still did not stop them from getting cold and wet, especially when they fell off the tube - three times.  All in all, a good day at Tahoe.

Northwest Spring - May 2011

Laurie and Ashley came up to Bellevue for a few days before and over Memorial Day weekend.  It gave us a chance to celebrate two birthdays with Braden, Tiffany and Kayla.  Kayla, being the young woman that she is, of course had to have makeup and lip gloss, and fortunately, she has a willing aunt to help her.  In return, she "helps" her aunt Ashley!  How much fun is that!

Kayla loves Cinderella.  So Tiffany made this remarkable cake to celebrate Kayla's birthday.

Tiffany also made this beautiful tutu for Kayla, handsewn.  Is she cute, or what?

Two beautiful girls!  Kayla got to blow out the candles held for her by Cinderella.

Kayla Loves her sunglasses, but is not too good on the two thumbs up, yet.

Bubbles anyone?

On Saturday, we took the touristy trip to Pike's Place market and the Space Needle.  It was a great day for sightseeing.

Later that day, Grandpa got a little silly with the tutu... but the grand daughter loved it, so who cares about the silly.  I can see why older folks get less inhibited, what's not to love about getting that smile from Kayla?

We finished the travel day at our favorite family restaurant, where Kayla was exceeding busy with intense coloring!

That night, we also pre-celebrated Ashley's birthday with a wonderful ice cream cake made by Tiffany.  Another wonderful few days in the Northwest.

Yosemite Phototour

I have always wanted to see Yosemite with the waterfalls in full bloom, and we did just that for a week in May.  Laurie and I joined a photography workshop in Yosemite.  We arrived on Sunday afternoon, with rain and then snow greeting us as we moved to the higher elevations.  It was beautiful.  Each day, we went to specific locations (Monday - valley floor, Tuedsay - Vernal Falls, Wednesday - all over the valley, Thursday - hike to Columbia Point, Friday - more spots on the valley floor).  Laurie was a great sport... and I had a blast.  Combined, we took over 4,300 pictures!  I put some of our favorites below.  I hope you enjoy them.

Monday was a bit blustery, with fog and clouds and rain - perfect for picture taking!

Monday was not a very pleasant day. Throughout the day, it rained, or was foggy, and it was cold all day.  But the light conditions were remarkable.  Lots of interesting clouds and fog throughout the valley.  The lack of bright sun didn't deter the hardy photographers from plying their trade.  

Yosemite Falls from one of many bridges crossing the Merced River.

Tuesday, we headed up to Vernal Falls... it was a nice trek, but rainy and cloudy.  So those pictures didn't make the top ten.  But with all the rain and cold, we saw fog forming in the valley.  So Tuesday night, we headed to Tunnel View, and waited, and waited and waited.  Here is the view of the fog playing amongst the trees.

Trees and Valley fog from Tunnel View

After it was almost completely dark, and the fog was really settling in, Laurie took a remarkable, 7 minute exposure.  Enjoy.

Yosemite Valley, El Capitan climbers, Bridlevail Falls from Tunnel view.

Wednesday, we woke up to four inches of new snow at our rental.  We were at 6,000', and barely got out of our steep driveway without inflicting major damage on the car.  But it was sunny, so instead of learning about photoshop, everyone wanted to get back to taking pictures.

El Capitan from the northern road on a sunny day.

This one of El Capitan made the cut.  Wednesday then began to cloud up again, and we all got drenched.  Thursday was much better.  A beautiful, sunny day.  We packed all our gear into backpacks for the climb up to Columbia Point and the base of Upper Yosemite Falls.  We gained 1,000 feet in a mile!  Like going up stairs for an hour!  But the view was totally worth it!

Half dome from the Trail to Upper Yosemite Falls.

Once we got to the Point, we continued on so Laurie could get this shot of Yosemite Falls and it's rainbow.

Rainbow at the base of Upper Yosemite Falls.

Friday was another beautiful, clear day.  We drove to several more spots around the valley, taking more pictures and practicing what we learned during the week.  Flowing water was the theme for the day.  

Merced River near Bridal Veil Falls. 

Here, we heard sightings of a bear and two cubs nearby.  I thought I saw them, and headed off with my large lens to see what I could find... No bears, only ravens picking at something across the river.  Not one to let a photo-op go, I captured some flowers lit up by the sun.

Yosemite Dogwood

We then headed to Cascade Falls to further practice our theme for the day.  Laurie was the master of composition.  Check out this remarkable shot...

Cascade Falls as only the camera could see it.

And another nearby....

Cascade Falls

Every time we drove through the valley, we went by these lovely falls alongside the road.  On Friday, we finally had the chance to spend time there and enjoy the roar of these mighty falls.

Fern Springs Falls

Just to be clear, these falls are maybe two feet tall.  I could straddle the entire stream.  But they are ever so cute!

As we were heading to dinner, before our final shoot, we spotted a throng of tourists busy snapping pictures.  All week, Laurie was waiting to see a bear.. and there, right before our eyes, was a bear.  A terrific end to the week.

 

We need to leave already?  I still want to play in this tree!

The cubs were a riot.  They were up and down the trees so fast!  Finally, we went to dinner and waited for evening, so we could get our last shot.  All in all, a very nice week.  We have about 4,290 more pictures, if you want to see more of Yosemite.  I would recommend you go there yourself... Pictures can't do it justice, though we tried.

Half Dome on the Merced River

Ashley's Graduation

Ashley graduated from college on April 29, 2011.  This is her story (at least of her graduation from the eyes of her parents).  Laurie flew in early, to help Ashley pack her things, give away her things, throw away her things, and take lots of pictures.  She took many wonderful pictures, and we are sharing a few here.

The whole family flew in to help Ashley enjoy her special time.  Tiffany and Kayla flew in from Seattle with Rudy, Terrill and Emily flew in from Philadelphia, Jen and James from Oakland, Braden from Boston.  Most everyone arrived on Thursday in preparation for the ceremonies on Friday.  The ceremony took place on Friday afternoon.  Afterwards, we took a few pictures at UVU, and Ashley had a chance to share her special time with her favorite niece!

Kayla had to be bundled up... it was cold and snowing in Provo on April 29th.

Afterwards, we all drove to La Caille in Sandy for dinner.  A tradition for all four kids... though this time the group was a whole lot bigger than when we started, and we loved having everyone with us!

If you look closely, you can see the snow on the bridge, and on the ground under the carriage.  We look great, but everyone was shivering... a cold evening!

The next day, Laurie and Ashley flew back to Oakland, while Rudy got to have a Road Trip!  what a blast.  I got into some trouble with Laurie because of all the pictures I took while driving, but it really wasn't that dangerous... there were very few other drivers silly enough to be on the road with me.

Provo on Saturday morning... April 30th.  Looks more like January!

Somewhere in Nevada.  I always thought of Nevada as brown, but after all the rain, it was beautiful and green.

Boreal Ridge in the Sierra's.  Lifts were still running on April 30th.  Sorry Terrill!

And let's not forget the main event!

Congratulations Ashley!

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